Washington Beer: The Bine

The Bine

For beer in Bothell, go to the Bine

written by Jackie Dodd

Walking inside The Bine, you feel like you’ve found something, as if you’ve unlocked a secret that shouldn’t been there. The space feels transcendent—the copper bar top, the reclaimed wood walls—it all adds up to make you feel like you’ve driven into Seattle, or ended up in Ballard. It’s not the sort of place that is only good in contrast—it’s not “Bothell good.”

The fact that The Bine sits astride a construction zone, streets torn up, earthmovers humming, and next door to the hollowed-out remains of a building that burned to the ground eighteen months ago makes it even more impressive.

When I asked George Marshall, the owner of The Bine, where he got his start in restaurants, he laughed. “McDonald’s.”

It’s as honest as it is unpretentious. He was 15 years old and it was his first job. His East Coast accent peeked through his words as he talked about the path that wound his life from fast food to a stint as an actor on the rise to a bit of time working at Merrill Lynch.

Eventually that all brought him here to his job as a bar owner in Bothell. “Kylie should really be in this photo instead, she’s way better looking,” he said of his wife and co-owner. The pair is, in many ways, the core of this place. They are the heart. Although no one will argue when Marshall says she’s the “much prettier and much sweeter” half of the team, he is the face. He’ll be there almost any day you stumble in for one of the twenty-seven craft beers from the well-curated tap list, or a beautifully made Cuban sandwich. He’ll probably be wearing a Phish beanie, and he’ll probably even remember your name.